The Bitternut is common from the center to the coast of North America. It becomes rarely more than 200 years old. The wood is hard and is used for the furniture industry. The Indians used the wood for making bows also. The nuts are not edible.

The pignut is native to the North American east coast naturally, from Florida up to the Canadian Ontario. In Europe it is found only occasionally in parks and gardens. As a street tree piglets nut is inappropriate as it yields many hard nuts in the fall.